
mmm 


E LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES .)t 


A FLANAGAN COMPANY 


SB 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































The Little Classic Series 


The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 
Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug¬ 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


First and Second Grades 

No. 

2719 Aesop’s Fables. 

2713 Old Time Stories. 

2725 Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes. 

2707 First Steps in Reading. 

2.701 Jack and the Beanstalk. 

2726 Favorite Mother Goose Jingles. 

2720 Little Red Riding Hood. 

2727 Story of Little Black Sambo. 

2708 Bunny Cottontail Stories. 

2728 Ten Little Indian Stories. 

2721 Hiawatha and Henry W. Longfel¬ 

low. / 

2730 Twelve Little Indian Stories. 

2716 Bunny Boy. 

2731 The Jenny Wren Book. 

2704 Bob the Cat. 

2723 Whitter and His Snow-Bound. 

2732 The Bluebird Book. 

2717 Thanksgiving Stories. 

2733 Four Favorite Stories. 

2705 The Story of Two Little Rabbits. 

2724 The Three Misses Cottontail and 

King Rabbit. 

2734 My Shadow, and Other Poems. 

2718 Modern Fables. 

2735 My Treasures, and Other Poems. 

2706 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

First and Second Grades. 

2819 Squirrel and Other Animal Stories. 


Second and Third Grades 

No. 

2736 Three Popular Stories. 

2714 The Story of Joseph. 

2807 Beauty and the Beast and Other 
Favorite Fairy Tales. 

2702 Susan Cottontail Stories. 

2802 Cinderella and Other Favorite 

Fairy Tales. 

2715 Robinson Crusoe. 

2738 Stories from Grimm. 

2729 Sixteen Little Indian Stories. 

2809 The Coming of the Christ-Child. 

2709 Our Three Little Sisters and Hia¬ 

watha. 

2803 Christmas Stories. 

2722 Pussy Willow and other Tree 
Stories. 

2740 The Story of Peter Rabbit. 

2710 Stories About Animals. 

2810 The Little Story Reader. 

2711 Mr. and Mrs. Stout of Beaver Dam 

and How JackrabbitLost HisTail. 

2823 Stories About Birds. 

2712 The Tale of Bunny Cottontail— 

Abridged. 

2825 Who Stole the Bird’s Nest, and 

Other Poems. 

2824 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Third Grade. 

2826 The Robin Redbreast Book. 

2812 The Toyland of Santa Claus. 

2827 The Chickadee Book. 

2828 Brownie’s Ride and Brownie and 

the Cook. 

2829 Escape at Bedtime, and Other 

Poems. 

2830 My Ship and I, and Other Poems. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 




THE 


STORY OF FRUIT 



W. L. ROCHELEAU 

\\ 


1923 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 




Printed in the United States of America 



r% 

i 

o 

i n 

the story of fruit 

By W. F. Rocheleau 

Copyright, 1922, By A. Flanagan Company 


Fruit is one of the most prized and healthful 
of all articles of diet. This has been recognized 
by all people since the remotest time, and savage 
and partially civilized tribes make fruit a large 
part of their diet, provided they live in localities 
where it grows. Before the occupation of America 
by white men, the Indians gathered the wild fruit 
which grew in abundance, eating it fresh during 
the summer and drying quantities of it for winter 
use. The early colonists recognized the necessity 
of providing themselves with the different fruits 
which could be grown in the various parts of the 
United States, and soon after establishing settle¬ 
ments they began their cultivation. 

The earliest planting of fruit in America by 
Europeans is supposed to have been the planting 
of oranges in Florida in 1560 by the Spaniard 
Menendez. The Jesuit missionaries planted pears 
in the vicinity of the Great Takes at about the 
same time, and the Spanish missionaries intro¬ 
duced oranges into California soon after their 






occupation of that portion of the country. Lord 
Delaware planted a vineyard upon his estate in 
Maryland in 1610, and a few years later grapes 
were growing at Jamestown. Apples were also 
among the earliest fruits raised, for a report dated 
1639 states that one man made five hundred bar¬ 
rels of cider from his crop. 

APPLES. 

The apple is the most useful of all orchard 
fruits. It can be grown successfully over a wider 
range of country and climate than any other large 
fruit. The trees are hardy and when well started 
need comparatively little attention. The trees are 
grown in nurseries and are usually sold to fruit 
growers when they are two years old. The best 
varieties of apples are produced through grafting, 
that is, by cutting a little branch called a cion, 
taken from the tree producing the desired variety 
of fruit, and inserting it in the stock of another 
tree which is hardier but does not produce as good 
a variety of fruit. This insertion must be made 
so nicely that when the joint is wound and covered 
with wax, the sap from the tree will flow into the 
cion and thus keep it alive. During the first season 
the cion grows to the tree and attains a length of 
several inches. At the end of the next year the 



trees are ready for transplanting. They are 
usually set in rows from sixteen to twenty feet 
apart each way, and when fully grown are so close 
together that their tops nearly touch. In favorable 
localities the trees begin to bear when four or five 
years old but do not produce a full crop until some 
years later. 


PICKING APPLES. 

There are a great many varieties of apples, suited 
to different uses and to different localities and 
climates. In general those growing in the warmer 
States, such as Missouri, the southern part of 



Illinois, and Tennessee, are early varieties, matur¬ 
ing either in August or the early part of Septem¬ 
ber, while those raised in largest quantities in the 
states having a cooler climate, such as the northern 
part of New York and Michigan, mature later in 
the season and when ready for picking are very 
hard. These are known as winter apples, because 
they need to lie in storage for several weeks or 
months after picking in order to soften and 
develop the best flavor. Winter varieties are the 
most choice and command the highest prices in 
the market. Among those best known and most 
widely used are the Baldwins and Greenings. 
The early varieties which mature in the warmer 
climates begin to decay soon after harvesting, and 
need to be used within a few weeks, although by 
using care in picking, so that the fruit is not bruised 
and placing the apples in cold storage, some varie¬ 
ties may be kept until the middle of the winter. 

Apples are used in many ways and for many 
purposes. By crushing and pressing out the juice, 
cider is made, and from this the best quality of 
vinegar is obtained. By boiling the cider or 
evaporating it until it becomes nearly as thick as 
molasses, a most delicious preparation for flavoring 
sauces and for other cooking purposes is obtained. 
Cider prepared in this way does not ferment, and 
can be kept for years. The most choice fruit is 


placed upon the market in its natural state and is 
eaten without cooking, while poorer grades are 
made into sauce, pies, puddings, apple butter and 
other preparations, all of which are pleasing to the 
palate and highly nutritious. Much of the fruit 
is also dried to perserve it for winter use. This is 
usually placed on the market as evaporated apple. 
In the eastern and central parts of the country the 
leading apple-producing states are New York, 
Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri 
and Kansas. West of the Rocky Mountains the 
states noted for their production of apples are 
Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Cali¬ 
fornia. In these states the production has been 
greatly increased by the opening of large areas to 
irrigation, and the fruit raised in these irrigated 
tracts is of excellent quality. There are over 
2,200,000 apple trees in the United States and the 
number is increasing from year to year. The 
apple crop constitutes more than one-half of all 
the orchard fruits grown in the country. Great 
care needs to be exercised in harvesting the fruit. 
If allowed to fall from the tree, the apples are 
bruised and soon decay; hence, the most choice 
fruit is picked by hand and carefully laid in the 
baskets, from whence it is transferred to boxes and 
barrels for shipment. 



FRUIT-PACKING WAREHOUSE, INTERIOR 





















PEACHES AND PEUMS. 

Peaches constitute a little over one-fourth of the 
orchard fruits of the country. They are limited to 
a narrow area because the trees will not thrive 
where the winters are severe and the fruits will 
not mature in localities subject to early and late 
frosts; for this reason the peach-growing states 
are found only in those localities where the 
winters are mild and the summers long. The 
leading states in the production of peaches are 
Michigan, Georgia, California, Texas and Kansas. 
Of these, California is far in the lead, producing 
over six times as many peaches as any other state. 
Texas is second and Michigan third. The annual 
crop amounts to about 15,500,000 bushels. 

As with apples there are numerous varieties of 
peaches, and they are propagated in very, much 
the same way though the process of budding is 
more frequently used than grafting. This consists 
in setting a bud taken from the tree producing the 
desired variety of fruit under the bark of the tree 
upon which it is to grow, and so making the con¬ 
nection that the sap from the stock flows into the 
bud. 

All varieties of peaches can be grouped into two 
classes known as freestones and clings. The free^ 
stones are those in which the pulp is free from the 
stone, or pit, while in the clings it is fastened to 


the stone so tightly that it is difficult to remove. 
Peaches of the best quality, when ripe, are slightly? 
yellow with a tint of red on one side. They vary 
in size from those as small as large plums to those 
as large as a good sized orange. The California 
peaches are the largest and when allowed to ripen 
on the tree are of the best flavor. 

Peaches cannot be kept like apples or other hard 
fruit, and must be used soon after picking. They 
are usually harvested before they are quite ripe; 
otherwise they would become so soft that they 
would be damaged in shipping. They are packed 
in small cases or baskets, and before being placed 
on fruit stands are usually cleaned with a soft 
brush. This removes the dirt and brings out the 
colors so that they present a very attractive ap¬ 
pearance. Besides being eaten raw, they are 
canned and also dried for winter use. 

Plums have a wider range than peaches, though 
the largest and best varieties grow in about the 
same localities. The most important phase of 
plum raising is the preparation of prunes, which 
are nothing more than a certain variety of plums 
dried in the sun. After picking, the plums are 
placed in shallow trays, one layer deep, and ex¬ 
posed to the sun, when they slowly dry. In the 
dry atmosphere of a California summer this re¬ 
quires but a few days. When dried upon one side, 


an empty tray is turned over the one on which the 
plums have been laid, and the trays are then 
turned over so that the plums are transferred to 
the other tray and turned at the same time. When 
dried, the prunes are emptied into boxes which 



DRYING PRUNES. 

hold about fifty pounds each and hauled to the 
packing house. Here they are sorted by sizes by 
passing them through a screen with different sized 
openings, the smallest falling through first, the 
medium-sized ones next, and the largest last. 
They are then packed into boxes holding from ten 
to fifteen pounds each, and are ready for market. 

























GRAPES. 

While grapes are raised in a large number of 
states, the industry has not reached large propor¬ 
tions except in California, Delaware and some 
portions of New York. The methods of culture, 
varieties and kinds of vines vary widely with the 
locality. In Delaware and New York grapes are 


A CALIFORNIA VINEYARD. 

grown almost wholly for table use, while in Cali¬ 
fornia, which raises many more than all other 
states combined, they are grown principally for 
wine and for raisins. 

A California vineyard, to one who is not ac¬ 
quainted with it, would not be taken for a vineyard 





at all. The vines are set in rows, six or eight feet 
apart and when the stocks have reached the height 
of about four feet, they are cut off and are kept 
pruned from year to year so that the vine is really 
a bush with a thick, strong stock and numerous 
short branches which bear a large number of leaves 
and clusters of grapes in the axils of the branches 
next to the main stock. 

A good vineyard, when properly cared for, will 
produce from eight to ten tons of grapes to the 
acre. The fruit is harvested by cutting the clus¬ 
ters from the vines and, if they are designed for 
wine, dropping them into boxes that hold from fifty 
to sixty pounds each. These are either hauled 
directly to the winery or to the nearest railway sta¬ 
tion, where cars containing large tanks made 
especially for the purpose are ready for their ship¬ 
ment. The grapes are dumped into these tanks, 
and when they reach the winery are run through 
a press which crushes them and liberates the juice. 

The juice, together with the pomace, is pumped 
from the vat beneath the press into large vats or 
tanks where it is allowed to slowly ferment. When 
the process has reached a certain stage, the pomace 
is strained off and the clear juice is transferred to 
other vats, where it remains until it has turned to 
wine, when it is either bottled or put into casks 
for the market. 



Raisins are simply sun-dried grapes. The 
variety used for making raisins is the green grape 
commonly known as the muscat. The grapes are 
picked and laid upon trays similar to those used 
in drying prunes, and exposed to the sun. When 
one side is dry, they are turned and allowed to 
remain in the sun until they are so dry that they 
will not decay when packed. Before packing some 
are run through a machine which removes the 


AN ORANGE GROVE IN FLORIDA. 

stems. They are then marketed as stemless raisins, 
while the most choice varieties are packed in clus¬ 
ters and placed upon the market in this way. We 
sometimes find seedless raisins on the market, and 



the seeds from these are also removed by ma¬ 
chinery. 

ORANGES. 

Perhaps the most interesting as well as the most 
attractive fruit is the orange. As stated at the 
beginning of the chapter, oranges were planted in 
America at an early date, though it was several 



AN ORANGE GROVE IN CALIFORNIA. 


centuries after that before any special attention 
was given to their cultivation. The orange is a 
semi-tropical or tropical fruit and cannot be grown 
in regions subject to frost, since this not only kills 
the fruit but the tree as well. The trees are set in 








rows from eight to ten feet apart. They have dark 
green leaves and white blossoms and when in 
bloom an orange orchard presents a beautiful 
appearance. This is particularly true since the 
trees usually blossom before the ripe fruit is picked, 
and the combination of the dark green, orange and 
white is particularly pleasing. 

Only two states produce oranges in sufficient 
quantities to supply the market. These are Florida 
and California. Because of its fine climate, Cali¬ 
fornia is especially suited to the raising of oranges, 
and they are grown from the southern boundry 
as far north as 100 miles north of San Francisco. 
There are several varieties raised, but the variety 
most highly prized is the navel oiange, which has 
no seeds. The product of California is between 
26,000 and 30,000 carloads each year. The fruit 
begins to ripen in October and the earliest is 
picked before it is quite ripe and rushed to the 
eastern markets for the holiday trade. 

Oranges are tender and need to be handled with 
the greatest care. They are cut from the trees 
because, if broken, the point at which the stem is 
attached would soon decay and spoil the fruit. 
When picked, they are placed in bags, which the 
pickers hang about their necks, and when filled 
empty into boxes, in which the oranges are taken 
to the packing house. Here the oranges are 



dumped into a tank of water and run between two 
revolving brushes wit'h soft bristles. This removes 
any dirt or discoloring. After washing, they are 
dried in the sun, then brushed again to give them 
the polish which they present, after which they are 
sorted as to size, then wrapped in tissue paper and 


SHIPPING ORANGES BY BOAT. 

placed in boxes. The number in the box depends 
upon the size of the fruit. The largest size 
requires 96 to fill the box, while of the smallest, 
200 are necessary. We can see from this why 
oranges of the same variety vary so greatly in price. 



The oranges are shipped to market in refrige¬ 
rator cars, by which they are protected from the 
cold of winter or the heat of summer, as the case 
may require. Like peaches and plums, they can 
not be kept for a long time after harvesting, and 
the reason that we are enabled to have oranges on 
the market every month of the year is because 
there are early and late varieties, and the growers 
produce enough of each variety to keep the market 
supplied. Next to apples, oranges constitute the 
most valuable fruit crop of the country. 







ORCHARDS 
By W. L. Nida 


Helping One Another. Fruit trees of some kind 
will thrive in any section of our country, so every 
farm should have its own fruit. Some farmers 
make fruit-raising their chief business, while others 
have only a small orchard for family use. If the 
raising of fruit is the principal object of the farmer, 
he should locate where many other farmers are do¬ 
ing the same thing, so that they may form companies 
to help one another in many ways, especially in 
obtaining good prices for their crops. 

Keep Near Market or Railroad. It is well not to 
go too far from the railroad to raise fruit. When 
peaches are to be handled, they should not be hauled 
more than three miles. Strawberries must also be 
marketed soon after they are picked and with as 
little cartage as possible. Apples are more firm and 
will endure more handling, but the expense of a long 
haul reduces the profits. 

Hill Lands for Orchards. It is usually better for 
orchards to be upon land higher than the rest of the 
farm. The cold air is heavier and settles into the 
.valleys and lowlands, so the hill orchards are not 
so likely to be caught by late spring frosts. 

The Best Slope. The north and east slopes of 
hills are preferred for apple orchards, because they 


are slower in warming np in the spring. This keeps 
the blossoms from coming out too soon and being 
injured by late frosts. Trees set on southern slopes 
receive more sunshine, and their fruit is more highly 
colored. But southern slopes are usually drier than 
northern slopes, and thus the fruit does not grow so 
large. 

The Influence of Water. Land sloping toward a 
river or a large body of water is good fruit land, 
because the water keeps the air from too sudden 
changes. The fruit should be on the slope that re¬ 
ceives the wind after it has crossed the water. Air 
near water is kept from getting suddenly colder 
and there is less likelihood of frosts. (Fig. 93.) 

Kinds of Soil for Fruits. For apple, pear, and 
plum trees a farmer should choose a deep, moist, 
clay loam. A sandy loam is better for peaches and 
cherries. 

Preparation of Fruit Land. The soil should be 
prepared as carefully for a fruit orchard as for corn. 
It is plowed deep for planting the trees, so the roots 
may reach out far and wide for food. The surface 
should be harrowed to a dust mulch. If the field 
is wet and swampy, it must be drained. 

Planting Trees. The trees may be planted either 
in the spring or fall. If the soil is in good shape, 
fall planting is better, because the trees get a start 
before winter. To make tillage easy the rows should 
be straight. Apple trees are commonly planted forty 
feet apart each way, but sometimes they are planted 


closer. Pears are set about twenty-five feet apart 
and peaches and plums each twenty feet. There 
should always be room enough between the trees so 

spraying may 
be easily done 
and the crop 
harvested con¬ 
veniently. 
Setting Trees. 
When a tree 
is taken from 
the ground 
the more roots 
that are saved 
the better. But 
with the best 
of care many 
of them are broken or bruised, and others must be 
cut. All the broken roots should be cut back from 
the injured end with a sharp knife, so the smooth 
wound will heal quickly. Since the tree has lost 
many of the rootlets that supply it with food, the 
branches must be cut back, too, else they will need 
more food and moisture than the roots can supply. 
People usually leave too much of the top on a tree 
that is transplanted. The trees should not be ex¬ 
posed to the sun and wind before planting, and the 
planter should not allow the roots to dry out. If the 
roots are covered with a coat of clay, it is well to dip 
them in water before setting them. 





Fig. 93. Irrigating an orchard. 




Packing About the Roots. The holes dug for the 

trees should be a little larger than the roots seem 
to need, so that they ,can be placed straight. Since 
the roots feed the tree, it is very important to pack 
the soil well about them, so they can get plenty of 
liquid food from it. The upper roots should be 
raised until the soil is packed firmly under them. 
Roots should never be crowded together, but spread 
out naturally to grow 
as they will. In the 
bottom of the hole 
the soil must be 
packed very tight, 
but the top four 
inches should be loose 
for a dust mulch. A 
common mistake is to 
pack the soil tightly 
on top and leave it 
loose underneath. 

This brings the mois¬ 
ture to the surface 
and causes the young 
trees to die of thirst. 

Tilling the Orchard. 

The old idea that or¬ 
chards would take care of themselves after planting 
is a thing of the past. Now the successful fruit grow¬ 
ers till their orchards as regularly as they do their 
crops. Trees make nearly all their growth early in 





the year, before the hot months of midsummer, so 
it is during the spring months that they need plenty 
of food and moisture. Then is the time to cultivate 
the orchards. More than nine-tenths of the fruit is 
water, and we know that tillage is very helpful in 
saving moisture. The drier the season, the more 
the harrow and cultivator are needed. After July, 
when the growing period is over, a crop may be 
sown on the orchard to be plowed under later as 
green manure (Fig. 94). 

Injury to Trees. In tilling orchards, care must be 
taken not to injure the trees. The grass and weeds 
that grow close to the trunk of the tree do very 
little harm, and they had better be let alone, rather 
than run the risk of injuring the tender bark of the 
young tree. 

Pruning. If young trees are well pruned when 
they are set out, they will need very little more 
trimming until they begin to bear. Shoots that 
cross each other and interfere with other branches 
should be removed. When branches are likely to 
become too crowded, the knife should be used. Many 
fruit growers change the shape of their trees to 
their fancy by pruning. They cut the tops back so 
the trees will spread out instead of growing tall, for 
it is difficult to spray a tall tree, and the fruit is 
harder to gather. 

Spraying Fruit Trees. All fruit trees have ene¬ 
mies which the farmer must fight. More than 
twenty-five years ago a man who was employed by 


the state of Illinois to study plants, discovered that 
Paris green would kill the potato beetle. He said 
that he believed the same poison would stop the 
cankerworm from injuring the apple crops. For a 
good many years farmers doubted and shook their 
heads; but here and there a man began to spray 
with Paris Green to protect the crops, and they 
found it worked well. Fewer apples were found 
wormy in orchards that had been sprayed. (Figs. 
38 and 39.) This was only the beginning of an in¬ 
telligent fight to protect crops and trees from in¬ 
sects. Many discoveries have been made since, and 
now the best farmers everywhere are spraying with 
different mixtures to save their trees and fruits, 
their gardens and other crops. In the West, where 
the finest of fruit is raised, state laws have been 
passed, commanding every orchardist to spray his 
trees whether he finds them troubled with insects 
or not. This is to make sure he will not grow mil¬ 
lions of insects to attack the orchards and crop of 
some neighboring fruit grower who is careful in 
spraying. . 

Bordeaux Mixture. Besides the insects which in¬ 
jure our trees, there are tiny robber plants, or fungi, 
like mildew and the brownrot, that attack peaches 
and other stone fruits, sometimes even apples and 
pears. In France, where many grapes are raised to 
make wine, the grape farmers near Bordeaux found 
that their vines were being injured by mildew. So 
they set very earnestly to work to find a check for 


this enemy. After much experimenting, they dis¬ 
covered a poison spray now called the Bordeaux 
mixture. It is used all over the world to-day to 
kill the fungi that are injuring gardens and orchards. 

Spraying Machines. A farmer who has not more 
than five acres in his orchard can use a spraying 
machine worked by hand. There are many kinds of 
good spraying outfits. (Fig. 95.) It is chiefly im¬ 
portant to he sure that the liquid is well stirred by 
some means, so that the poisons will not settle to 
the bottom of the barrel instead of reaching the 
tree. The best fruit growers spray their trees regu¬ 
larly. (Fig. 96.) Peaches and prunes are usually 
not sprayed unless they are attacked by the scale. 
In many places apples are sprayed three times— 
once just before the blossoms open, again just before 
the blossoms fall, and a third time about ten or 
twelve days later. The mixture used is three or 
four pounds of copper sulphate, five pounds of lime, 
and a half pound of Paris green in fifty gallons of 
water. 

Thinning Fruit. Some fruit growers are now 
urging the thinning of the fruit crop. A part of 
the fruit on heavily-loaded trees is taken off before 
it is half grown, so that which is left may grow to 
a larger size. Though it costs a good deal to thin, 
the growers argue that it costs no more to pick the 
fruit when small than when it is full grown; and 
the fruit that is left to ripen is so much larger and 
brings so much better prices that it is well worth 



while. In Western regions the trees bear such heavy- 
loads that the branches break unless some of the 
fruit is removed. When the crop is light there is 
no need of thinning. Apples usually grow in clus¬ 
ters from three to a half dozen in a bunch. If one 


Fig. 95. A good spraying outfit for the orchard . 

is growing fancy fruit he should remove all but 
the best apple of each cluster. Pears grow like 
apples and may be thinned in the same way. In 
thinning stone fruits, the work may be done by 
pulling the fruit off; but with apples and pears it 





is safest to clip them with sharp-pointed shears, be¬ 
cause pulling is apt to break the branch. A fruit 
tree that has been properly pruned and the crop 
thinned, will not need props to keep it from break¬ 
ing down; and it is more likely to bear a good crop 
every year. 

Harvesting Fruit. A farmer who grows fruit for 
market must pick it carefully to prevent bruising. 
In order to make the fruit attractive to the buyer, 
the grower grades his apples, that is, he sorts out 
those of the same size and packs them together. 
Boxes are being used for packing, though many 
still prefer barrels for apples. Neat and careful 
packing helps to secure good prices for the fruit 
crop. 

Peaches. Though many peaches are raised in 
California, the greater part of them come from the 
Eastern states. A mildly temperate climate favors 
this fruit. They must be packed quickly and closely 
and sent by fast freight when shipped. Packers get 
two cents a basket, and an expert packer can fill a 
hundred baskets in a day. 

Apples. Of all the many fruits grown in our 
country, the apple is the most important. More 
than forty million barrels are used every year, or 
about a half barrel for every man, woman, and child 
in the United States. There are fewer difficulties 
to meet in raising apples than any other fruit. The 
tree is hardy and is not easily injured. There are 
many varieties of apples that keep well through 



the winter. All kinds are firm and can be handled 
and marketed with less care and trouble than other 
fruits. Apples may be put to many uses. They are 
eaten raw or they may be cooked in a variety of 
ways. Some are dried or made into jelly, and in 
this form they may be kept for a long time. 

Seedless Apples. Since we have varieties of seed¬ 
less oranges, men have been trying to develop an 


Fig. 96. The successful orchardist always sprays. 

apple without a core. When this kind takes the 
place of those we now use it will be a splendid thing 
for us all, because there are certain insects that 
live in the core of the apple and there is so much 
waste in removing it. Some day seedless apples will 
be a very common thing. 















PKESERVING FOODS 

Germs which Help and Hinder. The farmer's 
wife has her problems of canning fruits and pre¬ 
serving foods. It is a help to her to know the ene¬ 
mies she must fight and the harm they do. There 
are three living organisms that will cause animal 
or vegetable matter to decay. These are yeast, 
molds, and germs, or bacteria. 

The Yeast Plant. In order to grow, the yeast 
plant must have warmth, air, moisture, and sugar. 
This plant grows and divides into two plants, and 
these divide again and so on. Thus this tiny plant 
multiplies amazingly in a short time. It will grow 
in fruit juice and in fruit slightly sweetened, but it 
will not grow in thick sirups or preserves. It is 
easily killed by a high or low temperature. 

Making Bread. A small amount of yeast is put 
in the dough to make it “rise" for bread. When 
sugar is added, the plants increase in great numbers 
in a few hours. They start the decay of the mix¬ 
ture and create a gas which forms bubbles through¬ 
out the mass, and these make the bread rise. When 
the bread is baked the yeast plant is killed by the 
heat, and the gas escapes. 

Mold. Mold is spread about by tiny spores or 
seeds floating in the air. When they lodge on a 


warm, moist surface, such as foods, they readily 
germinate and spread over the surface. Molds may 
be destroyed by heating to a high temperature for 
about twenty minutes. Canned and preserved fruits 
are more liable to be injured by yeast and mold 
than by bacteria. 

Canning Fruit. The important things to remem¬ 
ber in canning and preserving are to keep all cook¬ 
ing utensils clean and to kill all germs. This we 
call sterilizing. The kettles, jars, strainers, covers, 
rubbers, and other utensils used in canning, must 
be scalded to kill the germs, or bacteria. When 
all germs in the jars and fruit are killed, the cans 
are sealed while hot so as not to permit other germs 
from the air to enter. If live germs are left in 
canned fruit, a gas will escape which means that 
decay or decomposition has set in, and the food has 
begun to spoil. Foods and other organic matter 
will not decay if germs are kept out. 

Bacteria. Bacteria multiply rapidly in meat, 
milk, and legumes. They cannot grow without the 
presence of water. Dried fruits and meats will keep 
because there is no water in which the germs may 
grow. Neither can bacteria live in a strong solution 
of common salt. That is why we salt meat to pre¬ 
serve it. 

Smoking Meats. Meats are also preserved from 
germs by smoking. Smoking leaves a thin coat of 
creosote on the surface of the meat, which not only 
kills all germs but gives the meat a good flavor. 


Certain kinds of wood smoke give the best flavor, 
though any wood may he used for the purpose. 

Cold Storage. Putting foods in cold storage does 
not kill the bacteria, but it keeps them from grow¬ 
ing and multiplying. As soon as the temperature 
rises, they begin to act and the food soon spoils. 

Preserving Fruits. Sugar is used somewhat in 
curing meats and very extensively in preserving 
fruits. When fruits are cooked for a long time the 
11 boiling down” kills all germs and drives off the 
water so that other germs can not grow. 

Souring of Milk. It is also germs that cause milk 
to sour. The air contains many germs, the dust of 
the barn is full of them, and there are some on the 
milk pail and on the hands of the milker. So it is 
impossible to keep germs from milk. All milk cans 
should be scalded after using and, if possible, placed 
in the sunlight, which is a powerful enemy of germs. 

Bacteria in Butter and Cider. Germs or bacteria 
make butter rancid. This can be prevented by 
working out of the butter all the milk and water 
which bacteria need to thrive and by thoroughly 
mixing salt into it. It is bacteria that makes cider 
turn sour and ferment. The solid, slimy mass known 
as the “mother of vinegar” is merely a vast colony 
of bacteria. Sweet cider makes the best vinegar 
because it contains more sugar for the bacteria to 
work upon. The process of making vinegar from 
new cider may be hastened by introducing some 
* ‘mother of vinegar.” 


ENTERTAINMENTS 


Drills and Plays for Patriotic Days.$o .25 

The Patriot’s Parade. A one-act play..15 

The Stars and Stripes. A flag drill..15 

All the Holidays. Celebrations for all grades - - - - .40 

Baxter’s Choice Dialogues. Ten good dialogues for old 

and young. 25 

The New Christmas Book. Recitations, drills, dialogues, 

songs and quotations. Very good..40 

Christmas Gems. Readings and recitations - .40 

Friday Afternoon Entertainments. New..40 

Thirty New Christmas Dialogues and Plays. Original, 

humorous, and musical. For all grades .... .40 

Modem Drill and Exercise Book.. 

Thompson Drills and Marches. 40 

Dickerman’s Drills. Many new and original drills - - .40 

Evangeline Entertainment. Dramatization of Long¬ 
fellow’s Evangeline. 25 

Dolly Travers’ Inheritance. A four-act drama - - - .15 

Washington Day Entertainments. For all grades - - .40 
Heavenly Twins. Farce for 13 or more characters - - .25 
Mirth Provoking School Room. Farce for 14 or more 

characters . 25 

New Motion Songs. For all grades..25 

Normal Dialogue Songs. Dialogues, characters, etc. - .40 

Old Time Humorous Dialogues. For young and old - - .40 

Practical Dialogues, Drills and Marches. For all grades 
and all occasions .. 

The Dear Boy Graduates. A four-act farce ----- .25 

Special Days in Primary Grades. Washington, Lin¬ 
coln, closing days, etc... 

Thanksgiving Entertainments. For all grades. Recita¬ 
tions, dialogues, songs, and drills. Excellent - - .40 

Lincoln Day Entertainments. For all grades. New - - .40 


A. Flanagan Company—Chicago 






















The Little Classic Series 

The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 

Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug¬ 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 

SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


No. 

2831 

2832 

2833 
2808 

2835 
2737 

2836 
2821 

2837 

2815 

2839 
2739 

2903 

2822 

2840 

2816 
2922 
2741 

2841 

2817 

2925 

2805 

2926 

2818 

2927 

2806 


Third and Fourth Grades 

Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 
Part 1. 

Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 
Part II. 

Aunt Martha’s Corner Copboard— 
Part III. 

How Little Cedric Became a 
Knight. 

The Little Brown Pitcher. 

The Golden Bird and Seven Ravens. 
The Little Brown Man. 

Longfellow and Hiawatha. 

The Queer Little Tailor. 

Stories of Old New England. 
Drakestail and Choosing a King. 
Daffydowndilly and the Golden 
Touch. % 

A Christmas Carol. 

Stories of Sir Launc^elot and Other 
King Arthur Stories. 

Story of Leather, Boots and Shoes. 
The Story of a Beehive. 

Miss Alcott’s Girls. 

Two Brownie Parties. 

The Story of King Corn. 

Stories of ’76. 

The Story of Coal. 

Some of Our Birds. 

The Story of Wheat. 

Arthur, The Hero King. 

The Story of King Cotton. 

King Arthur Stories. 


Fourth and Fifth Grades 

No. 

2928 The Story of Sugar. 

2919 The Story of Daniel Boone. 

2929 The Story of Lumber. 

2913 American Naval Heroes. 

2930 The Story of Iron. 

2834 Little Goody Two Shoes. 

2931 Night Before Christmas and Other 

Christmas Poems. 

2907 Our Pilgrim Forefathers. 

2932 The Story of Granite, Copper and 

Zinc. 

2901 The Story of Abraham Lincoln. 

2933 The Story of Marble and Slate. 

2920 The Story of Washington. 

2934 The Story of Fruit. 

2914 The Story of Benjamin Franklin. 

2935 Norse Heroes. 

2908 A Longfellow Booklet. 

2936 Norse Myths. 

2838 The Bluest of Blue Birds. 

2937 Norse Legends. 

2902 The Norse Seamen and Christo¬ 

pher Columbus. 

2915 The Story of the Revolution. 

2909 Henry Hudson and Other Explor¬ 

ers. 

2916 Miss Alcott’s Boys. 

2910 Orioles, Bobolinks and other Birds. 
2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2917 Grace Darling and Florence Night¬ 

ingale. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


The Little r 

The most popular work' 
arranged for use in schoc 
notes, biographical sket 
Also elementary stories * 
geography, biography, a.v 
gested has been extensive 
satisfactory results, but »— 
conditions. 



. Ui tCu tu oUlW OpVw. Ut 


The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 


Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Fifth and Sixth Grades 

No. 

2938 The Story of Gold and Silver. 

2911 The Story of Jeanne (Joan)D’Arc. 

3020 The Story of Our Flag. 

2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2939 The Story of Oil. 

2905 The Three Golden Apples. 

2940 Longfellow’s Poems. 

2924 The Story of Electricity. 

3002 Rab and His Friends. 

2918 William McKinley. 

3021 The Great Stone Face. 

2912 The Discovery of America. 

2943 The Story of Paper, Pens, Pencils, 

etc. 

3019 The Story of Steam. 

2944 The Story of Printing. 

3013 Father Marquette. 

2945 The Story of Newspapers and 

Books. 

3007 The Miraculous Pitcher. 

3025 The Story of Robinhood. 

3001 The Story of La Salle. 

Sixth and Seventh Grades 

No. 

3026 The Story of Motors. 

3014 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Sixth Grade. 

3016 Rip Van Winkle and Author’s Ac¬ 
count of Himself. 

3008 The King of The Golden River. 

3027 The Story of Glass. 

2941 The Golden Fleece. 

3028 The Meat-Packing Industry. 

2942 Whittier’s Poems. 

3029 Tennyson’s Poems. 

3015 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

3030 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part I. 

3031 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part II. 


No. 

3009 The Pied Piper of Hamlin and 

Other Poems. 

3011 The Song of Hiawatha—Abridged. 

3003 The Snow-I mage. 

3032 Primitive Travel and Transporta¬ 

tion. 

3022 The Courtship of Miles Standish. 

3033 The Story of Ships and Shipping. 
3024 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Seventh Grade. 

3034 Ocean Routes and Navigation. 

Seventh and Eighth Grades 

No. 

3035 American Railway Systems. 

3018 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

3010 Evangeline. 

3036 Horatius at the Bridge, and Other 

Poems. 

3012 The Cotter’s Saturday Night and 

Other Poems. 

3037 Lowell’s Poems. 

3004 Thanatopsis and Other Poems. 

3006 The Deserted Village (Goldsmith) 

and Gray’s Elegy. 

3038 Washington’s Farewell Address 

and Other Papers. 

3122 The Vision of Sir Launfal and 
Other Poems. 

3039 Prisoner of Chillon and Other 

Poe ms. 

3017 Snow-Bound and the Corn Song. 
3115 The Magna Charts 

3040 Sir Roger De Coverley Papers. 

3041 Carrying the U. $. Mail. 

3108 Speeches by Lincoln. 

3005 Enoch Arden. 

3101 Sohrab and Rustum. 

3042 Navigating the Air—Electric Rail¬ 

ways. 

3107 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 
Eighth Grade. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 



















